Survivors
by Calerna
Summary: AU. SasuSaku. "How long?" "Two hours." Within three hours, Neji would succumb to a deadly, raging fever and be unable to help defend the fortress against zombies. Within eight, he would be dead. Within 24 hours, the rest would attempt to escape.
1. Chapter 1

Manga: Naruto

Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaTem, KibaIno

Inspiration: The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Written: 5.30.10

* * *

Sakura gripped Sasuke's arm tightly – too tightly, for her nails created blooming red crescents, tiny rivulets of blood running down to drip from his palm. The incessant wailing of ghouls filled the outside perimeter, no doubt attracting those who lurked nearby. She stared in horror at her best friend; Sasuke's other arm restraining her from touching Neji. Hard muscle locked to keep her in place, his body flush behind hers. They both knew the consequences of touching any body fluid of their bitten friend; the fatal mistake of attempting to touch or treat the wound. Tears formed in Sakura's eyes, and she struggled against Sasuke to reach out and try to do _something_. Neji hung back, a grim smile lifting his features.

"Sakura," he soothed, "Sasuke's right. You shouldn't touch me – none of you should. It's too dangerous."

"I don't care," she sobbed, fighting against Sasuke's embrace. The Uchiha moved to restrain her with both arms, hard eyes watching Neji painfully. "Gods, Neji…" Sakura furiously wiped away the tears with trembling hands, her M1 Garand falling noisily to the floor. The pale-eyed man shrugged, pulling on his gloves as he began to smoothly remove his weapons and other necessities and placed them on the ground. Matches, knives, guns and others joined Sakura's rifle on the floor, all distributed steadily by the Hyuuga. Sasuke's eyes fixed on the brown-purple gash. Teeth marks were clearly visible, and the poisonous flesh reeked of blood.

"How long?" Sasuke's voice was curt. He was struggling to keep a professional façade—something necessary in dealing with any fatally bitten victim. No matter how close the person was to you or how much they mattered, mercy killing was the only option. There was no cure to the Solanum virus. Nanotechnology was far from being achieved, and in the worst outbreaks of the country, medical help for even a cut from a professional was something of an impossible dream. Sakura's hands shook as she released Sasuke's arm. She knew the deadly effects of Solanum, how long Neji would be able to move about, and how long it took for the virus to completely manifest. She used to be a doctor – a medic, and was one of the few professionals left to treat wounds.

"Two hours," Neji panted. He grimaced at the look of pain shooting across Sakura's face and at the pain shooting up his arm from moving it. The bite seared on his shoulder, but he kept a calm, unaffected face in an attempt to placate Sakura. Within three hours, Neji would succumb to a deadly, raging fever and would be unable to help defend the fortress against zombies if needed. "Give me some gauze, please," he said, and Sasuke attempted to keep Sakura restrained as he reached for it. But the rosette broke violently free.

"_I'm_ the medic in charge, Sasuke, so _I'll_ bind it for him. Risk of infection or not, I will do everything I can for Neji—"

"Sakura," Neji intervened, soft white-gray pleading. "Please, don't. It is a kind gesture, and I appreciate it very much. But to risk infection for it is too much. You _know_ that. Don't you understand the pain Sasuke would be in? You don't want to end up like Tenten and I…" he sighed. "Losing Tenten was the greatest pain I have ever felt, and I don't think you would ever want to inflict such horrors upon Sasuke." He locked eyes with the Uchiha who sent him a look of pained gratitude. "I can bind the wound myself, Sakura, I wouldn't dare risk passing the infection to you." He hastily bound the wound with the gauze Sasuke had thrown to him, binding it tightly with rows of medical tape. Neji quickly cleaned up the dried blood and made his way to his bed. He sank slowly down onto the mattress, where he spent the last hours of his life at full-health enjoying time quietly with his friends. Naruto and Sakura clung to each other desperately, Hinata gripping Neji's hand hard, knuckles white. "You'll make a good clan leader," he told her. "And you'll be able to make all the rules – you can marry Naruto instead of being forced into an arranged marriage." He turned to Naruto. "I give you my cousin and my blessing for your marriage and you _will_ make a good leader for the Hyuuga clan, and if Konoha survives, a great Hokage as well." To Sakura. "Don't blame yourself for people you can't save. Don't tear yourself up too hard – for me. Don't think of me as leaving; think of me as rejoining Tenten…Sakura, I love you." He handed his dog tags to her and hugged her tightly. To Sasuke, "Rebuild your clan. Don't let Sakura go – take care of her for me. And Gods, Sasuke, marry her before two years are over, you emotionally constipated bastard. She loves you, you know." He said his words to the rest as well; Kiba, Ino, Shikamaru, Temari, Sai, Lee, Chouji and gave a good ear-scratching to Akamaru. The fifth hour steadily approached and he pulled the covers over himself, shivering and body wracked by the fever. "Don't let me survive past the eighth hour," he told Sakura, allowing her to crawl into his arms and hug him tightly, brushing her fingers through his long chocolate locks. He removed his headband, revealing the green seal and pressed it into Hinata's hands.

At the sixth hour, his fever had risen to 102. Cool cloths were pressed to his head, and he mumbled about caged birds, fate and Tenten. In front of the eyes of all his friends, Neji deteriorated even further – at an alarming rate. Solanum was a horror. Sakura could do nothing but watch – her healing green hands could not stop the virus without killing Neji, nor could she slow the process without prolonging his torture till eventual death. He grew deathly pale and vomited frequently into the scratched black bucket, head lolling weakly onto the pillow. The area around his wound darkened beneath the bandages, the virus taking a deadly toll on his body.

At the seventh hour, he no longer had the strength to rise from his bed. Blood sometimes accompanied vomit. His teeth chattered and even though his mental state and physical condition worsened, he had sense enough to refuse water or food, claiming they shouldn't waste it on someone who didn't need it. They needed to conserve what they could. At the seventh hour, Sakura busied herself with creating a painless injection of poison – it was the very least she could do for her dying best friend.

At the eighth hour, they said their final goodbyes. Neji could no longer lift his arms or do much of anything. He smiled at them, his final words being "See you all much, much later" and laid back on his pillows, still vaguely mumbling about Tenten and birds and too weak to lift himself to vomit into the bucket. Sakura injected the poison and he passed painlessly minutes later, a peaceful smile on his lips. Sakura knew that even though Neji had already died, his body would reanimate unless the brain was destroyed. With the help of Sasuke, they wheeled the lifeless, Solanum-active body out to the courtyard and lit both the body and bed on fire on top of a sheet. They collected his ashes later and placed them within an empty glass vase.

As soon as they made it back into the fortress, the most controlled shot off the moaning ghouls at the concrete gates with furious hostility. Sasuke held Sakura tightly as she moved around, immediately disposing of possibly contaminated substances with gloves and cleaned the guns and knives with alcohol. When she was finished, he pressed her to his chest and cried quietly with her.

"He's with Tenten now," Sasuke murmured, voice broken and cracked. "He's not suffering anymore." He carried her quietly to their bed, wrapping himself around her and let her sob into his shirt, all of the group drifting off to sleep with red, puffy eyes and torn hearts. None of them would ever forget the stoic, sturdy Hyuuga with pale, silvery eyes and a handsome, chocolate-framed face.

* * *

In the morning, Neji's name joined the murmured ones of Kakashi, Asuma, Shino, Tenten, Jiraiya and Kurenai in prayer. His ashes were placed beside Tenten's, headband wrapped tightly around the neck. Sakura whirled across the rooftops in vengeance, expertly picking off each and every ghoul that swarmed the gates. Sasuke watched her quietly from afar, aching to reach out and hold her, but knowing he had to give her time for her rage to settle. After all, he'd spent years hurting her and shoving her away. It was time for him to do some waiting. Sometimes he learned something new about the woman he loved and sometimes she shocked him still. She did now, hitting each and every zombie she shot at. The burning determination in her eyes the day she'd fought Sasuke himself was there now, determined to kill each and every zombie littering the walls with their hellish screams. Sakura quickly reloaded the M1 Garand and resumed the slaughter.

It would've been more efficient if Sasuke were to help, but he could let Sakura blow off some steam this once. Neji had _really_ made her believe she wasn't weak or worthless. He showed her that she wasn't trapped under weakness – like a caged bird – and helped her break free. Sasuke watched with guilt-ridden eyes as she silenced their moaning cries, letting out several screams of fury as she spun on the rooftop. Sasuke watched her cautiously, prepared to spring forward and drag her back if she showed any intentions of trying to jump off the parapet and fiercely battle the onslaught with her knives. Neji had taught her she was strong, had helped her to help herself stand when there was no one left to believe in her. He was just as valuable as Naruto and Sasuke were to Sakura, and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Fight me," she suddenly said, turning to Sasuke, daggers drawn. When he did not respond, she said it louder. "Fight me." The metal flickered between her hands, green eyes flashing.

"You're—"

"Just _fight me_!" she screamed, and Sasuke reluctantly gave in. He drew his Ninjite, opting for the shorter sword rather than his Katana. Like quicksilver, shuriken littered the rooftop as fast as Sasuke moved, narrowly avoiding them all. He and Sakura were perfectly evenly matched – something he discerned just minutes into the fight. Her blows had the same strength as his, and though he forced her back several times and vice versa, it was always an equal distance. She whirled and the daggers hurtled towards his side. Sasuke twisted his body out of the way and locked his Ninjite with her other dagger. But in a fight fueled by anger, Sakura began to blindly throw slashes. Sasuke quickly overpowered her and pinned her to the ground. Honestly, he would've wanted to let her win. But he could never live with himself he did not fight her with his full potential – and it would torment her forever. For in doing so would tell her he thought of her as _weak_. She bucked uselessly against the cage of his body, finally slumping and surrendering.

"You only lost because you let your anger control you," Sasuke told her huskily, roughly. His arms dropped to either side of her head, nose skimming hers. "If you had not let your emotions get in the way, you would have won." Sakura kissed him hard in response, because it was Sasuke's way of telling her she was _strong_. Just like Neji had made her believe she was years ago. She watched from the safety of his arms as he collected their weapons and shuriken, picking the straggler zombies off before retreating inside, Sakura held in his embrace.

"We're going to need to switch bases before the end of next month," Shikamaru stated gravely. "I've been looking over the map to see which base we can make ours – we're starting to get low on ammo and rations. While the fortress is ideal, the soil is too dry to plant food and there is no game around to hunt." He slipped a lazy arm around Temari, the other hand gesturing to places on the map. "A military fort would be best, or we could take to the sea and get a hold of an oil rig, or better yet – find a prison, preferably from the 1960's era. All prisons with only two fences and a ring of barbed wire we can stamp out as a possibility." He locked eyes with Sasuke, who nodded sharply and added to Shikamaru's defense.

"I agree. An oil rig would be preferable – an artificial island. We wouldn't have to worry about zombie attacks. We would have fuel. The only problem would be erosion. We'd have to move within two years, if we planned to stay that long. We'd have plentiful food, and I've worked on one before, when…" Sasuke trailed off, quickly moving on, promising to make up for the hurt that flashed in Sakura's eyes later. He'd been on one in the years he'd left. "Anyway, drawing up oil wouldn't be a problem, and there are living and operational quarters as well. A prison would also be ideal…provided its defenses are strong enough to hold up against hordes of attacks. There would be a garden so we could grow food, but obtaining seeds, which is dangerous and hunting meat would be a little bit of a problem. There'd also be a library full of books about medical and other advice, but we would forego that if we had an oil rig to go to. However, going for an oil rig is our best bet. The riskiest part is getting there and fighting any possible zombies. It is most likely deserted, which is a good thing. We should try and find an offshore oilrig." His hand drifted to Sakura's, squeezing it lightly. Sasuke dropped a kiss to her temple, arm slipping around her waist and pulling her closer.

"Who says we should move to the offshore oilrig?" asked Shikamaru, after five minutes of contemplation. Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Sai, Lee and Chouji all readily agreed, while Kiba, Naruto, Hinata and Temari seemed to opt for the prison. "Alright, it seems the oilrig wins. Why would you want to go to the prison? The risk of zombie attacks and overruns are far greater."

"…I don't like swimming," declared Naruto. Shikamaru shook his head.

"We won't be swimming. It'd be too dangerous. Who knows where the occasional zombie is lurking beneath the water? Besides, getting our ammunition wet and possibly losing some by swimming with it all would be too dangerous," said Sasuke. Sakura nodded.

"I just voted what Naruto voted for," Hinata said shyly. "I don't mind where we go, just the safest."

"I think getting to the oilrig would be risky," declared Kiba. "Sure, getting there would be amazing, but travelling the open ocean with possible zombies walking the seafloor or bloated among the waves is treacherous."

"A prison is dangerous, too," said Ino, tossing her long blond hair. "We have no idea if the walls will cave or a crack will appear, and if that happens there were probably be a horde of zombies waiting to devour us. We have no idea if the inmates are still locked up or are free or are zombies or are even _there_ anymore, and we have no idea if the walls have already been broken into. With an oilrig, there could be zombies aboard but there would be no way to get fresh ones inside. We'd have an easier time shooting off the lone zombie in the water rather than battling a possible onslaught. Of course, we'd have to bring the car with us, so acquiring a ferry possibly infested with zombies will be a problem. But the oilrig is still the better idea." She leaned into her boyfriend, nose brushing the tattoos on his cheeks. Akamaru seemed to whine in assent, and Kiba gave in. Temari shrugged.

"If everyone's opting for the oilrig, I don't see why not."

* * *

The armored car hurtled down the abandoned road, swerving around numerous zombies and roaring down to the ocean – which had taken several hours. Sasuke shook them all awake as the alarm on his watch beeped. They were thirty minutes away from their destination, and they needed to be prepared to all hop out of the car and mow down any stumbling ghoul in their way. Of course, all the zombies would be lured to the roar of the engine approaching, and all would probably gather and wait for them. Sakura adjusted the holster, re-strapping the daggers high on her shoulder blades and slinging the AK-47 across her back, nestled between the two. She carried her trusty M1 Garand in her hand and strapped shorter shotguns to her hips. Tied tight around her ribs, the handles of two pistols stuck out from behind her back, snugly encased in their modified holsters. The others were equipped basically the same way. They waited tensely, Shikamaru quietly explaining the plan and going over it a fifth time for precautions. Kiba scanned the area, cutting the engine and gazing at the army of ghouls, rotted bodies making both his and Akamaru's nose twitch. The dog growled twice, and they burst out of the armored car without pause. Sai took the wheel and started the car up again as they slammed the doors shut, Ino at his side in the passenger side to help pick off ghouls. She was an expert sharpshooter, and could hit things with deadly accuracy from a moving car.

Naruto tumbled to the ground and whirled about, guns blazing as he mowed down a line of zombies. Temari stood at his side, the others standing around him in a loose half circle as the armored car covered the other half. The ghouls staggered forward, the stench of putrid flesh overpowering the salty ocean air. Sakura whipped her gun in a small half-circle, each shot she fired finishing off each zombie she aimed at. Their impeccable accuracy quickly cleared a path to beeline for the dock where a ferry floated – and they all jumped into the car and hurtled down the road, mowing several unlucky ghouls down. They began to stagger slowly towards the dock, and Sasuke thanked the Gods they were highly incapable of running. Ino cleared the ghouls on the dock and Lee grabbed two cans of gasoline for the ferry, preparing for a mad dash onto the boat. The hellish moans of zombies had already alerted the others, so Sai didn't have to worry about any as he honked the horn, inviting zombies possibly in the ferry to surface. Ino picked them off quickly as two others jumped from the car and covered the back, Naruto and Hinata shooting from the inside. Sasuke and Sakura ran with Lee as the bushy-browed man leapt forward carrying to heavy jugs of gasoline, killing zombies as they ran. Lee quickly got to the motor and poured the oil in as the couple protected their position, killing all the ghouls rising from the captain's hold and other things. Sai revved the engine as Temari and Shikamaru leapt back into the car and slammed the doors as he drove the car quickly onto the ferry. Chouji leapt out and slashed the rope and the boat shuddered away from the dock as the ferry roared to life. Several zombies splashed into the water in a futile attempt to reach them, but Ino and Chouji both began to pick them off.

Sasuke grabbed the wheel as Sakura and Naruto headed down below, knocking loudly on the metal door to attract any ghouls if they were left. One stumbled down the hallway, but Naruto got a bullet cleanly through the thing's head before it could reach them. They barged into the several rooms and found there were no zombies left, although the stench of corpses and the bodies themselves remained. They bolted back on deck, locking the door just in case they had missed one. Lee and Chouji worked on securing the armored car down to the boat and deck, Hinata and Ino unloading the car and packing all their items into bags and boxes. Once it was ready to be hauled onto the oilrig, the crew quickly reloaded their guns and drew close to the rig, throwing the anchor around the complex system that allowed the boat to stay near the oilrig without being pushed to sea or being smashed into the rig itself. They began to yell, no doubt attracting the possible ghouls or alerting humans of their prescence. Three were designated to stay on board. Sharp commands from Kiba to Akamaru had the dog sniff the air and confirm that there were ghouls onboard the rig but no living humans. All but three scampered up the ladder, Akamaru forced to wait onboard until the pulley system could be lowered to bring him up.

A small group of zombies converged on the eight humans, and they quickly blasted them overboard. They tossed the radios – which they only used when finding new territory – to each other and separated into four groups of two. Sasuke and Sakura headed off to investigate the remaining outside of the platform while Ino and Kiba headed inside. Shikamaru and Temari took on the offices while Sai and Naruto headed into the living quarters. After a sweep of the outside, Sasuke and Sakura headed into the operating system room and found nothing but a decomposing ghoul. They took care of it, and with gloved hands, carried the corpse over the side. The rest of the ghouls were disposed that way, and in a matter of an hour it was safe to lower the pulley system and bring Akamaru aboard. In the hour they deemed the oilrig safe from zombies, Lee, Hinata and Chouji had cleaned the ferry and made it sanitary. Akamaru confirmed no humans or ghouls were left and they brought the supplies up, the people last after securing the boat and car well. Sakura replaced her Glock 22's in their holsters and headed inside to help clean and dispose of the remains of unlucky humans.

Sakura and Sasuke had just thrown loaves of moldy bread over the side into ocean when a telltale moan and awkward shuffling alerted them to the prescence of a ghoul. Fast as thought, Sasuke shoved Sakura behind him even though she didn't need to be protected. The gray-skinned _thing_ limped forward, mouth open in a wide, gaping hiss. It advanced; empty eyes fixated directly on them and trying to limp forward faster, the stench of rotting, decomposing meat washing over them. Sasuke whipped his gun up and shot a clean one through the ghoul's skull, whipping around and banging his gun on a nearby metal canister, grabbing Sakura and pressing her tightly against him. Sakura drew her own gun, aiding Sasuke in drawing ghouls – if there were any left. They stayed as quiet as possible, listening for the steps of the undead. Sakura quickly shot twice, and they heard two splashes of water several seconds later. Together they raced back to the sleeping quarters, shaking hands unlocking the door and collapsing inside.

"Naruto?" called Sakura hesitatingly, and was relieved when his answering shout came their way. "We just encountered three zombies," she informed. The others immediately rose, locking doors and boarding up windows as best they could. "We weren't bitten, but there may be others about."

"From now on," declared Sasuke, "no one is to go outside at night until we establish that all the zombies are gone." His grip tightened on Sakura's waist, hand trembling at the thought of losing her. They made their way stiffly to their bedroom, still shocked by the event. They slid their beds together to attempt to make a double, but even though the double had been made Sakura climbed in bed with her boyfriend, snuggling up to his side and dumping her boots on the opposite bed. Sasuke smiled softly at this, tucking her head under his chin and drawing the blanket up and over them.

"Do you think it'll be like this forever, S'ske-kun?" Sakura's voice was heavy and murmured with sleep, and Sasuke almost smiled. But the question kept him grim.

"I certainly hope not," Sasuke said into her hair. "But they're going to stop soon so you and I can finally have a freaking family and have lots and lots of pretty babies," he slurred, tired as well. He quickly fell asleep, though his answer had Sakura wide-awake with elation.

Ino watched as her own boyfriend finished boarding up the window, back slicked with perspiration and muscles rippling smoothly as he did so. She licked her lips, getting up from her seat as he finished, leaning his head against the wall and panting softly. Her arms ran around his waist as she kissed the middle of his back gently, laughing quietly as he spun and caged her against the wall, kissing her passionately. A hellish moan suddenly reverberated throughout the oilrig, and they fell silent, retreating to the bed and falling onto it noiselessly. Ino reached for her Glock 22 and placed it within reach, slipping her shoes on and making sure everything was in reach. Kiba did the same, kissing her quickly before cradling her in his arms, Akamaru leaping onto the other bed and ears cocked. The others did the same, plugging their ears with earplugs and falling asleep. The terrors of the zombies were far from over – they'd have to fight off the remaining ghouls on the oilrig and survive the years to come, but at least they were all alive. And, Sakura thought, with all of them – they just might survive. They'd kill those moaning fuckers and she'd settle down somewhere with Sasuke; maybe the old Uchiha district and they'd have lots of beautiful children. Sasuke smiled in his sleep, thinking of black-haired, black-eyed miniature versions of himself and Sakura, and of apple green eyes and soft pink hair. He woke up when he knocked his own Glock 22 off the table, and he decided that even if his dream was miles and miles away, he'd make it fucking happen no matter what. Besides, the Hyuuga had told him to, right? Uchiha's – and soon to be Uchiha's – always won a challenge, no matter how hard.

* * *

The name Solanum comes from The Zombie Survival Guide, as with the 'manifestation' of the 'deadly virus'.

I wanted to try something new, and after reading a survival guide about zombies - why not?

Also working on a SasuSaku, faery-world oneshot, inspired by Holly Black and her books; Valiant, Tithe, and Ironside.


	2. Chapter 2

Second installment of **Survivors**.

Manga: Naruto

Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaTem, KibaIno, SuiKa

Inspiration: The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

Written: 5.31.10-6.13.10

—I used the Phonetic Alphabet in this; Sierra for Suigetsu and Kilo for Karin.

* * *

_2_

Three months. It'd been three months since the band of survivors had made it to the oilrig—and was doing quite well. The space confinement was their only issue; they'd found an actual Greenhouse on the rig and with Sakura's superior care, the plants were flourishing. She'd found dusty packets of vegetable and fruit seeds, and with a little bit of work their garden had actually started to grow. With their incredible luck also came a storage space with tons of extra bags of soil, ensuring they could live on the oilrig for quite a while. The quarters were somewhat cramped considering the only places they could go _was_ on the structure, but provided with the choice between zombie-infested land and ghoul-devoid artificial island, they all preferred the latter.

At the moment, Sakura was planting several tomato seeds, her boyfriend's favorite food. He watched her silently, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He reached out, thumb caressing her cheek before rubbing and pulling away. He explained she'd had dirt on her cheek when she asked about his intentions, Sakura giggling and kissing him on the cheek. As she watered the soon-to-be tomatoes, Sasuke's hands gripped her hips, entire body flush against hers, nose skimming her neck as he dropped feather-light kisses on her skin. She was about to turn around when Naruto's voice shattered the moment.

"Hey, Sasuke! Sakura! C'mere!" yelled Naruto. Another great thing about living on an artificial island—they didn't have to watch the amount of noise they made. The fact that they lived practically in the ocean ensured nothing would hear them; specifically zombies. "We've got something on the radio!" Yet another beneficial factor. Living on an oilrig ensured fuel and power, enough to power not only stoves or heaters but also a fully functional radio. They often listened for pleas and cries for help, never sending signals out—lest they gave away their position—unless the people responsible for the cry for help would be able to reach them. Sakura rose and wiped her palms clean on her jeans, setting down the small watering can and exited the Greenhouse, Sasuke right at her heels. Together they hurried up the stairs and into the communications center. A crackle of static fuzzed out, and then the signal strength returned.

"—near Konoha. Two of us, looking—" the signal waned. "—help," the male voice finished.

"They're near Konoha? We can help them!" exclaimed Sakura, listening closely. "Quick, Naruto, send out an answering signal."

"They _could_ be bandits—or try and attack us," Shikamaru reasoned, frowning at the radio. Sakura glared at him.

"I will not _not_ try to help them, Shikamaru. Even if they are bandits, we've got the best team there was in Konoha. If they are rogue, we won't have any trouble cutting them down. We need to try to help whoever we can. We haven't sent out any signals yet. We'd only be announcing our position to them." Sakura quickly stood and hit a button. They waited as the radio began to transmit signals and connect. Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his seat, draping a lazy arm around Temari.

"Hello?" she called, "we've heard your reply, Sierra Kilo. Come in, over." There was a momentary pause before the voice answered again, practically sobbing in relief.

"Oh thank gods, this is Sierra Kilo, reporting from just outside the border of Konoha. Could you help us? Over." The signal seemed to gain strength, and Naruto gripped Sakura's shoulder tightly.

"We have a base offshore of Konoha; we are willing to have you join us, over." Sakura reached for Sasuke's hand as the sound of gunshots emanated from the speakers. They all flinched at the sound of a woman cursing and more rounds being fired. "Are you alright, over."

There was a long pause filled with more shots and the sounds of running through the bushes, then eventually a car starting and roaring to life.

"—Kilo, we were attacked but are safe. Where are you, over."

"Pier 34, over. We will dispatch a crew to come get you, over." Shikamaru said this, and Sakura smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you, it will take us two hours, over."

"Drive your car up to the dock, we have a ferry you can drive your car on. The ferry will be bright blue with the words Sandaime painted in white; what color is your car and what do you look like, over." Sakura moved out of the way as Shikamaru took her position, note pad and pen at ready.

"We have a yellow hummer. One male, one female. I have blue hair, she has red hair, over." The relieved voice hastily delivered the information, and the sound of a cursing woman filled the radio again, with several more gunshots. "On our way, see you then, over."

"Right. We'll be waiting near the dock when you arrive, over." They ended the transmission with a click, and they all leaned back in their seats. "Who will stay here and who will go? Sakura—you're a medic, in case there are injuries, you should go. Sasuke and Naruto are our best fighters, they will go. We'll send six and keep five here. Kiba and Akamaru will go as well. Lee, you'll go too. Ino, you're a sharpshooter. You'll go as well. Temari, Hinata, Chouji, Sai and I will remain here to defend. You will leave in thirty and wait offshore. It takes roughly one hour to reach the pier from here. Stock up." He dismissed them all and began to make preparations for accommodating two more.

Sasuke and Sakura slipped into their room, quickly gathering ammunition and weapons to defend against the zombies. Water and medical kits and food were packed as well. Once they were done, they joined Lee in helping Akamaru down the pulley system and adjusted the boat for travel, firmly securing the armored car to the boat and making sure they had more than enough gas. The lifeboat was checked as well, and they loaded the extra ammo into the car. The radio headsets were distributed among all eleven—even though they would quickly get out of range with each other, they could communicate once they approached the oilrig and the group on the rig could talk to each other and vice versa with those on the ferry.

The ferry crept forward on the water, all members on the boat alert and at the ready, guns tense and ready to fire. Several bloated zombies floated at the surface, and Sasuke's sword cleaved through them effortlessly. No need to waste bullets, he reasoned. Sakura's favorable M1 Garand pointed towards shore while Ino wielded her trusty AS50 Sniper Rifle—after all, she _was_ a sharpshooter. The AS50 was propped against the ship's starboard, allowing the blond to be able to quickly dispatch ghouls. Even as the ship eased in as quietly as they could, they caught the attention of zombies waiting at the dock. The gray-skinned things lurched forward unsteadily, mouths dropping open in moans and groans, some dragging broken ankles, some even crawling. They clawed helplessly at the air as they reached forward for the tasty flesh onboard. Lee quickly looped the rope around the post while the rest defended his position. Lee ran and locked himself inside at the controls, while the rest took to the roof. Sure enough, twenty minutes later, a yellow hummer burst over the top of the hill. The ghouls seemed to stumble and scramble in confusion. Some ambled up towards the new distraction while the rest simply continued to converge on the ferry. The hummer kicked up dust as it hurtled down towards the pier; Lee got ready to steer the boat away from the ship, Ino picking up the pace with firing rounds. The car slowed as it neared the dock, a redheaded woman shooting from the inside, aiding the six-man group in creating an undead-free path for the car to navigate. The woman wore gloves constructed of thick leather and Kevlar plates on her arms to protect from possible zombie bites. The car squealed to a desperate stop on the ferry, and Sasuke quickly un-looped the rope while Sakura and Ino protected him from harm. With a great shudder, the ferry pushed off the dock, more than several zombies falling into the water in an attempt to fall onto the boat. Their unearthly moans grew louder as the boat pulled away, more splashing desperately into the water to hopefully grab their prey. The pair fell from the car, gasping and shaking in the adrenaline rush and fear.

"Sierra Kilo?" prodded Kiba carefully, Akamaru growling slightly, hackles raised in case they turned out to be a threat. The light blue-haired man nodded violently, panting as he fell against the hummer for support. "Do you need medical attention?" he asked, but the two shook their heads.

"I'm Hōzuki Suigetsu," offered the man, "and this is Karin." He wrapped an arm around the woman in an effort to stop the shaking. The redhead smiled weakly, wiping the sweat hastily from her forehead as her hands trembled.

"Thank you so much," exclaimed Karin, "I don't know how we can ever repay you. Our base was overrun and we were trying desperately to find someone…we would've been eaten if it weren't for you guys," she said. She leaned against the sharp-toothed man for support, burying her face into his chest. "We're willing to do whatever to help you guys out in return for saving our lives," she offered. Naruto smiled and stepped back.

"We've got a spare bedroom that we just used for storage, but there are plenty of rooms to store our things so we'll clear that out for you. Do you need to bring anything up from the car? You should do that now." The blond walked over to the pulley when Suigetsu nodded, going down with them as they retrieved their belongings. Sakura left to resume her work in the Greenhouse, Sasuke following immediately.

Beads of sweat ran down her forehead as she worked, giving Sasuke a grateful smile when he dirtied his hands with her, helping water the row of growing vegetables. Sakura carefully tended to the strawberries, humming softly to herself. She felt a dirt-smudged finger lift her chin, gazing into obsidian eyes that were directly across from her on the other side of the flower bed. They shared a chaste kiss before resuming their duties.

"I think the celery will be ready to eat soon," she declared proudly. They'd been badly withering when they'd first reached the oilrig, but after hard work, she'd managed to save the plants. "Vitamins are essential and good, but having real vegetables and fruits is better than being packed into pills…and I'm slightly sick of eating only seafood," Sakura blanched. "Of course I'd much prefer eating fish everyday than being constantly surrounded by zombies, but a change of game would be nice…" She looked up to see her boyfriend smirking slightly at her rambling. "Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" she prodded, feeling a bit foolish.

"Aa. You do enough talking for the both of us, Sakura," the stoic Uchiha smirked. Sakura flushed pink and quickly turned her back, mumbling 'whatever' and hosing off her hands. "But that's okay," he added. "I don't mind." He wrapped dirty fingers around her hips, stilling her movements.

"Sasuke-kun," she whined once she noticed his dirt-covered hands stained her jeans. "Now you're going to waste water, I could've used these jeans another day, but no, you just _had_ to get them dirty…" This time, Sasuke did not let her continue to babble. He moved in and kissed her, breaking away before muttering into her ear.

"Don't complain; I know you liked it." He drifted his fingertips across her face, smudging porcelain with brown. A mischievous smile lit Sakura's features as she pressed her hands firmly down into the soil, pressing her body against his and running said hands up and down his chest, kissing his neck breathily. His breathing hitched, and right as she reached his mouth her hands wiped themselves on his cheeks. She pulled away, giggling at the expression on his face. "Oh, you're going to pay for _that_, Sa-ku-ra—"

"Sakura-chaaaan! Sasuke-temeee!" came Naruto's too loud voice, calling them up for dinner. Sakura did the smirking this time, letting the Greenhouse door bang behind her as she ran up the steps to the dining hall, laughing all the way. "About time you lovebirds got in here," remarked the blond cheekily. "Hey—why do you guys have dirt on your faces and clothes? You didn't use your face to plant stuff, did you?" He leaned forward, inspecting his best friend's face concernedly. Sakura laughed, shoving Naruto away as Sasuke growled uncontrollably possessively.

"_Sasuke_ decided to get my clothes dirty so I got revenge," she stuck her tongue out playfully, but they were interrupted by the arrival of the two newest members of the team—Suigetsu and Karin.

"Don't worry, my best friends are weird," sang Naruto, earning him a light punch on the shoulder and an attempted kick to the balls.

"_You're_ one to talk, dobe!" Sasuke glared, slowly wiping the traces of soil from his face. He grinned evilly, pulling Sakura close and nuzzling his face into her hair. At first the rosette relaxed into his touch, but violently jerked away when she realized just what was on his face.

"_Sasuke-kun_!" she shrieked, patting savagely at her hair in an attempt to bat the dirt away. He just laughed, a deep, throaty, beautiful sound that left Sakura in awe and no longer angry at his mischief. Sure, it might have been cliché to be enraptured by the sound of her boyfriend simply laughing, but the thing is—Sasuke _rarely_ laughed. Rarely. So she forgot about the dirt in her hair and grabbed his hand, enjoying the mood and carefree attitude he rarely exhibited. Sasuke seemed to feel the same way, letting her drag him down the hall, a soft smirk at his lips.

Dinner was a quiet affair, interrupted in the middle of the meal by another frantic radio distress-call. Shikamaru pushed back the chair so violently it tumbled to the ground, sprinting to the control room when the system alerted them of the SOS. The rest were quick to follow, abandoning their food in favor of the control room.

"—he—bies," came the crackled, badly interrupted plea. "—everywhere, nowhere to—my friend—SO—"

"Hello?" yelled Shikamaru, jamming the headset over his head "Are you there?" He motioned to Chouji, whose chubby fingers quickly darted across the keyboard, honing in on the person's position. A few more seconds of frantic scrambling on the keys produced exact coordinates. Shikamaru scanned the screen hopefully, but his face fell the minute their position was noted on the map. They were too far away for the team's assistance. Even with a car, they'd be hard-pressed to make it the harbor or even survive. "Hello? Are you there?"

Suddenly, the signal cleared up. "Oh, thank god," the person on the other end sobbed, and heavy panting was heard, along with scrambling noisily through what seemed to be foliage. "Help me, please, where are you?"

"Too far away to help you, even if you had a full tank of gas I don't think you would make it," Shikamaru rushed out. "But we can help you in getting a safe place and getting away from the zombies, quick, tell me where you are, where are the zombies, climb up on something if you haven't already, zombies can't climb well—"

"I'm on the top of a tree," the man's frightened voice barked, "there's—_oh my god_—there's so fucking many!" he exclaimed.

"Shh, keep your voice down," growled Shikamaru. "Whatever you do, you _can't_ give away your position—"

"Oh my god, oh my god, one's coming for the tree, _oh my fucking god_, I think he knows I'm here!"

"Quiet!" commanded the pineapple-haired man, squinting at the map on the screen. Using google maps, they'd found the man's exact location. If he was right, there was a warehouse nearby where the guy could hide on the roof. "I can see your location and there's a warehouse nearby, correct?"

"Yes, but _oh my god_ it's coming closer! Help me, help me, help me!" the guy whispered desperately, and the sound of more shuffling could be heard, along with the telltale click of reloading a gun.

"Be _quiet_, god fucking damnit, if they can hear just _one_ thing they will _all_ come after you and you will _die_, do you understand?" Shikamaru had several veins standing out on his forehead in aggravation, not bothering to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen onto his face. Karin held Suigetsu's hand tightly, staring at the man giving orders. She and Suigetsu hadn't met people like this in a long, long time. Before the outbreak, Karin had been something of a slave for Orochimaru. He'd held her family hostage, and threatened to dispatch one of his top assassins to infiltrate her home and kill her family if she so much as disobeyed one order. She'd been forced to perform gruesome, horrifying experiments on helpless victims, injecting random formulas of chemicals into their bodies. That was where she'd met Suigetsu. Suigetsu had been one of Orochimaru's experiments. Orochimaru had managed to alter his DNA and other structures, enabling the boy's teeth to grow into shark-like fangs and be able to survive longer without oxygen while underwater. Suigetsu could hold his breath for about ten minutes casually. The longest he could go was twenty. He and Karin had formed a dangerous, secret relationship, and when the outbreak hit—they'd escaped into the night together.

"I can't go the warehouse," came the panicked breaths of the lone survivor. "They're everywhere; swarming the ground like an ant infestation! Help me please, please, please! Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, I think he can _see_ me—"

"Shut up," came Shikamaru's hiss. "Is it stumbling towards you, arms raised, face turned towards you and moaning? If it's not moaning it can't see you." He glanced at the satellite image again. "Stay up there for the night, maybe they'll leave the area once they realize there's no food left—don't make any noise, don't alert them to your prescence."

"Well it's not moaning but I'm so sure it can see me, Christ, it's looking directly at me, _oh my god_ I can't take this anymore, I'm going to make a run for the warehouse."

"No!" Shikamaru exploded, "the only way you can tell if a zombie's recognized you is if it's moaning, don't you dare get out of that tree or they'll spot you!" Shikamaru's words seemed to have no effect on the single survivor. "Do you understand me?" he roared, "whatever you do, do NOT run out into the open, you'll die—"

"You're probably just trying to get me killed, aren't you?" came the guy's voice, high with paranoia and stressed to the point of deliriousness. "You know running to the warehouse is a good idea, but you're just trying to make sure I get eaten!"

"No, man, I'm trying to _save_ you that's why I responded to your distress call, if I were trying to kill you I would've told you to jump out of the tree and wave your arms like a lunatic and invite them to just eat you!" The pineapple-haired man ran his hands through his hair violently, panting in anger and worry.

"Fuck you, man, fuck you," came the response. "When I get up there and I'm all safe I'll tell everyone not to answer your false help!" The radio crackled and the sound of moving came through the radio.

"Please, don't—" Shikamaru started, but the man hit a button on the receiver. He could no longer communicate with the guy—but he could still hear him. Those standing around him grabbed each other shakily, staring at the screen in horror. A branch creaked and they heard a thud! and the telltale sound of zombies spotting their prey. The man cursed violently, and the sound of running feet and muffled gunshots came through the speakers. Sakura buried her face in Sasuke's chest, hugging him tightly as he did the same into her shoulder, grabbing onto her so hard she thought she would break. More swearing came through, and wild, panicked shots. Then came the screaming, overshadowing the moans. There was another thud as the radio was presumably dropped into the dirt. The man screamed in agony, several more shots being fired. He shrieked and yelled, "My leg, you fucking sicko, that's my fucking leg!"

Shikamaru jammed his finger onto the button and turned around, shaking, face pallid and breaking out in a cold, horrified sweat.

"Even if he managed to get away and radio us, he's already been bitten—" said Hinata, stuttering, trying to comfort the shaking man. "There's nothing you could've done, Shikamaru, he was going to die in the first place…" her words turned to tears and Naruto whisked her down the hallway. They all silently filed out of the room after murmuring that Hinata was right and Shikamaru shouldn't blame himself for it.

* * *

Sasuke woke to the sound of quiet sobbing—and turned his head slowly to the right, making sure his hair hid his eyes before opening them a crack. His girlfriend was curled up on the other side of the makeshift 'queen', crying into the pillow. He frowned, knowing she'd feel even more terrible if she found out her boyfriend was awake to hear her cry, and opted for shifting over to her side under the pretense that he was still asleep and just seeking for warmth. He let his body become as relaxed as possible, keeping his breaths even and light. He threw an arm over Sakura's waist, mumbling incoherently and faux-snored softly, something she sometimes teased him about. With a jerk she was tight against his chest, a hum of pleasure emanating from his throat. He mumbled her name sleepily, just loud enough so that she could hear, and fell silent, hoping it had worked. And it had. Sakura smiled and turned in his arms, burying her tear-stained face into his shirt.

"I love you so much, Sasuke-kun," she told the 'sleeping' man. "You're the best guy I could've ever asked for."

A grin broke out on Sasuke's face, and he _almost_ broke his 'sleeping' façade. His stomach fluttered and he exhaled heavily into her hair. His pleased smile soon turned to embarrassment as she repeated her next words.

"You mumble my name a lot, you know…but it shows that you really, truly care for me, Sasuke-kun…ugh, what am I doing, talking to my sleeping boyfriend? He can't even hear me," she giggled and snuggled closer. "Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke woke up again to the sounds of his girlfriend—but this time she was talking. "Sasuke-kunnn," she drawled, and said Uchiha opened an eye blearily, realizing his girlfriend was laying on top of him, propped up on his chest.

"Mmph," he said in response, raising a hand to rub his face.

"Did you know," she smiled, "that you talk in your sleep?" She watched his face shift to sheepish surprise. "It's really cute," she laughed. Sasuke hid the proud satisfaction welling in his chest—he _had_ cheered her up. He smirked at her, lifting his head to kiss her good morning. Sakura smiled at him, sitting up to straddle his waist, stretching much like a cat. Unbeknownst to the rosette, what position she'd just stretched into had triggered Sasuke's more passionate…response. Sasuke's eyes darkened, smoldering as he propped himself up on his elbows to lean forward and try and steal a kiss from her, running a tongue along his lower lip. She obliged, thinking his intentions were chaste—but she was quickly flipped over and her mouth ravished thoroughly. She giggled under his weight, threading her fingers through his spiky hair. "I have to go tend to the vegetables, Sasuke-kun," she whined, pushing at his chest. The Uchiha grunted somewhat unhappily and lifted himself off her, stretching himself before disappearing to the bathroom, grabbing boxers and clothes as he went. Sakura grumbled at him—she'd wanted the shower first.

* * *

Karin opened her eyes slowly, finding herself cuddled into her boyfriend's chest. Well, more like smothered _by_ her boyfriend's chest. Suigetsu was half sprawled on top of her, chest against her back, pressing her breasts into the mattress. She slowly turned her head to the right, eyeing the mass of light blue. She smiled as she felt the tip of a fang lightly poking her, but then frowned at the beginnings of drool on her shoulder. So much for being romantic. Karin groaned, attempting to move or turn around—but his deadweight prevented her from doing so. Not wanting to wake him up, Karin decided to go back to sleep and to try to ignore the drool on her back. Luckily for her, though, Suigetsu had sensed her struggling against him and woke, realizing with embarrassment that he'd _drooled_ on her. Like a pig. He hummed a good morning, discreetly wiping the wetspot on her back with the bed sheet. Karin smirked beneath him.

"Dog," she joked. "Your drool everywhere." Suigetsu's blush darkened and he sniffed, flicking his tongue out on her neck, drawing up slowly. "Hey!" Karin cried, finally managing to flip herself over. Big mistake. Instead she found herself face to face with her boyfriend—and his tongue. He grinned, tongue stuck out teasingly to lick her nose.

"Afraid of some saliva, Karin?" he teased, but at the last possible second she opened her mouth and swallowed his tongue. Suigetsu's eyes widened and frowned slightly at the table-turn, but decided this was so much better.

Together they padded out of their room, tiptoeing down the hall, careful not to wake anyone who was still sleeping. Holding hands, the pair ventured out into the sunlight, drawing in deep gulps of salty ocean air. Sounds of loud, feminine laughter drew their attention to the Greenhouse, where two silhouettes moved around. Judging by the short, spiky, shoulder-length hair, Karin guessed it was the feisty, pretty pink-haired woman who reminded her of herself. The shadow of the other person had spiky, cockatoo like hair, and she immediately discerned it was Sakura's extremely attractive boyfriend. She and Suigetsu gazed around, finally able to _breathe_. They didn't have to worry about zombie attacks, food shortages, water or shelter—for the next few years, anyway, but that was plenty enough.

The two made their way up to the highest building—the radio tower, and scaled the sides quickly, sitting on the roof, staring at the blazing sun and rippling ocean water. Karin kicked her feet against the concrete as Suigetsu's arm wormed around her waist and a fang poked out of his mouth, pulling her attention away from the majestic sight.

Naruto's incessant screaming had them all running for his bedroom, thinking a spare zombie had been spotted—but really, he'd only fallen out of bed and stubbed his toe. Sasuke called him an idiot and Naruto called him a bastard, which Karin and Suigetsu really couldn't understand; Sai pondered quizzically whether or not they were really _friends_, and Hinata watched, giggling all the while. They almost knocked a hole in the wall of the kitchen when Suigetsu called Chouji _fat_, and things were finally settling down. The next morning they found a stray zombie crawling in the air vents, hideous moan echoing down the metal and sending them into a frantic scramble as to exactly where the ghoul was, but they took care of it.

* * *

_Day 56 Since Karin and Suigetsu Arrived_

_Friday, 5:32 PM_

"Sakura."

"Mm, Sasuke-kun?" the medic said, swirling delightedly across the top of the radio tower, spinning in tight, dizzying circles. Laughter escaped her lips as she stumbled, looking at Sasuke with one of those brilliant, heart-stopping smiles of hers. Everyone else was strangely inside, but it didn't bother Sakura. She was glad to have some alone time with her boyfriend once in a while. She stopped spinning, looking at Sasuke questioningly when he took his time in responding. "Yes?" Sakura made her way to stand by his side.

He turned to her, normally blank and unexpressive eyes burning with emotion. The fire in them was full of blazing passion, and he reached out slowly for her hand.

"I love you. Do you love me?" he asked, watching the dying rays of sun play across her face and glowing apple green eyes.

"Of course I love you, I tell you that every day," she laughed, somewhat surprised by his question. "Why do you ask?" Across the way, Ino couldn't help but squeal in delight. Shikamaru was sort of upset about using the technology for something that wasn't important in the means of survival, but Ino had hit him over the head and demanded Temari to shut her boyfriend up. They were all crowded around the speakers, secret microphones hooked up to the rooftop to catch the strains of their conversation.

"Because…" Sasuke paused, reaching out to tuck a fluttering lock of pink behind her ear, swallowing nervously and blinked twice. His throat went dry and he almost stuttered on his words. He went from suddenly standing to kneeling, her hand still in his. Sakura's mouth fell open and her cheeks flushed with pleasure. "I know I don't have my engagement ring, but will you marry me?" Ino simultaneously shrieked with excitement and disappointment—_That was so lame!_—but they all fell quiet, waiting for Sakura's response.

"YES! DID YOU EVEN HAVE TO ASK?" came the thundering response, and she was about to pull him up to a standing position to kiss him with all she was worth, but she remembered something. "Wait. _My_ engagement ring, not _an_ engagement ring?"

Sasuke cleared his throat. His eyes darted away from hers embarrassedly. "You see…uh…even when I left…" he trailed off, watching her eyes as she concealed the wince, "I always knew that I was going to…marry you."

"…_what_? So you bought an engagement ring then?" Sakura's mouth was open in surprise, and that sort of made up for the hurt of his betrayal. Sort of.

"Well, no. But I always _knew_. So the day after I came back I went to a jeweler in Konoha and custom-ordered one for you. I would've taken it with me—I would've never left it there, but I had to change my pants and forgot about the ring in the pocket. I left it at home, in the Uchiha compound. I was so angry at myself for forgetting." Sasuke wet his lips, feeling foolish under her wide-eyed, open-mouthed gaze. But to his surprise tears started forming. "It's okay though because when we g oback I can get it so you'll have one—"

"Baka! I was crying because that was the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" Sakura exploded, "Not because you don't have the ring!" She yanked him to full height, kissing him hard. He pulled back, eyes smoldering, reaching up to unchain the necklace around his neck. It was his necklace he'd had since birth—signifying he really was Uchiha, despite the Sharingan and obvious traits. He fastened the Uchiha fan around her neck, rubbing his thumb across the characters that spelled out his full name.

"This will do until we get home and I find that ring," Sasuke told her, letting the symbol slip out of his fingers and come to a resting place between her breasts. Sakura jumped on him then, kissing him so fiercely he almost toppled over. Screams of congratulations from the other side of the platform caught their attention, sending Sasuke's cheeks flushing the darkest shade of red they'd ever been in his entire life. Everyone had heard his embarrassing confession, but one look at Sakura's radiant face told him it was worth it. Naruto caught them both in a bone-crushing hug, uttering his congratulations and how he'd been surprised "someone like the teme had been able to actually make a half-acceptable proposal, though it wasn't going to be as great as his to Hinata's"—which sent Hinata fainting and Sasuke growling and hitting him on the head. Naruto asked afterward if dinner was soon, because he was hungry and he _did_ have an also hungry demon sealed in his stomach, you know.

* * *

To be honest, I wasn't planning on a sequel to the first chapter.

But a story-alert got me thinking, and well, here it is.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, Survivors is now officially over.

:)


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